Door post locking means for open side railway cars or the like



Jan. 12, 1965 F. P. ADLER DOOR POST LOCKINGMEANS FOR OPEN SIDE RAILWAY CARS OR THE LIKE Filed Aug. 2, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F. P. ADLER Jan. 12, 1965 DOOR POST LOCKING MEANS FOR OPEN SIDE RAILWAY CARS OR THE LIKE Filed Aug. 2, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Tm rm United States Patent 3,165,076 DOOR POST LOCKING MEANS FOR OPEN SIDE RAILWAY CARS OR THE LIKE Franklin P. Adler, Michigan City, Ind., assignor t9 Pullman Incorporated, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Filed Aug. 2, 1961, Ser. No. 128,869 7 Claims. (Cl. 105-378) This invention relates to an improved door post locking means for open side railway cars, or the like. I

This application is a continuation-inpart of copendmg application of Franklin P. Adler, James E. Candlm, Jr. and William Van Der Sluys, Serial No..l29,937 filed August 2, 1961 which discloses an open side railway car having a removable door post and roll up doors cooperating therewith. The arrangement there disclosed is such that after the roll up doors are elevated, the door posts can be removed so that the entire side area of the car is open and available for direct loading.

That application is directed, inter aha, to means by which the upper end of the door post may be mounted or secured in place; this application is directed to means by which the lower end of the door post may be secured in place with respect to the floor structure.

Since the car does not have structural side walls, any transverse forces arising from load shifting will be taken up by the doors and transmitted to the door posts. Therefore, it is important to provide strong and positive means for locking the lower end of the door post in its operative position and against lateral displacement, and also to provide an arrangement whereby the post locking means will not become disengaged by the vibration of the car incident to use.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved locking bolt arrangement for the lower end of the door post, in combination with bolt locking means for maintaining the bolt in its operative position.

One difiiculty encountered in the provision of bolt locking means is that, due to deflection of the underframe when the car is loaded, it is not possible to provide a tight fitting door post, with the result that the bolt locking means must provide allowance for relative vertical move ment between the bottom of the door post and the floor structure.

According to the present invention, the means for locking the bolt in its operative position is a portion of the door which, in its closed position, is locked with respect to the floor structure. Therefore, irrespective of relative upward movement of the door post with respect to the floor structure, the post locking bolt will be maintained in engagement with the floor structure.

Another object of my invention is to provide a post locking arrangement-in which the locking bolt is slidably mounted in the door post, together with means for locking the bolt with respect to the floor structure of the car so that the bolt will be maintained in its operative position irrespective of the vibration or deflection of the underframe and floor structure of the car.

Still another object is to provide an improved locking bolt in the form of a wedge which will facilitate movement of the door post into its proper position.

A further object is to provide an arrangement which will indicate to the operator whether the locking bolt is securely pressed home into its operative position.

Other objects, features and advantages Will become apparent as the description proceeds.

With reference now to the drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts:

FIG. 1 is an elevation of a railway car embodying my invention;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are horizontal sections taken along lines 2--2 and 33 of FIG. 1, respectively, showing the cooperation of the doors with the door tracks, and FIG. 3 also showing the post locking means;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken along line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section taken along FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the locking bolt.

With reference now to FIG. 1, the reference numeral designates a car body which is supported on wheels 21 by suitable underframe structure which includes side si-lls 22. The car body includes two car end structures each comprising a car and two end piers 23 which may be structurally connected to each other. The car body also includes a roof structure 24, and removable door line 5-5 of posts 25. Three roll up doors 26 are provided, one being located between the two door posts 25, and each of the other two being confined between a door post 25 and a door guide channel 27 which is carried on one of the end structures, such as the end pier 23. A suitable floor structure 28 is supported by the side sills 22 and other parts of the underframe.

The car structure is preferably of the unit frame type shown in the aforementioned copending application, and also in Serial No. 89,033, now abandoned, in which the load carrying capacity of the car is developed by .two transversely spaced unit frames which require no vertical structural members at points between the car ends, thus permitting removal of the door posts 25 during loading.

Each door post 25 extends between a side plate 35, forming a part of the roof structure 24, and a post holder 28 which forms a part of the floor structure 28. The upper end of the door post is removably secured with respect to the side plate by an interlocking pin arrangement, not shown, which permits the lower end of the door post to be displaced outwardly in a lateral direction away from I the plane of the side of the car. Preferably, this lateral displacement is a swinging movement with respect to a track on which the upper end of the door post is slidably mounted, as shown in the aforementioned copending application, Serial No. 129,937.

The lower end of the door post 25 is removably secured to the post holder 28 by means to be hereinafter described.

The door guide channel 27 is provided with a track 55, as shown in FIG. 2, which is adapted to receive the rollers 57 of the door sections 26. Similarly, the door posts 25 are provided with tracks 56 for cooperation with the rollers 57. The roll up doors 26 are of the ordinary type used in garages and the like, and are made up of hingedly connected sections 26'. The cooperation between the door sections and the tracks 55, 56, is standard and will not be described in detail.

When the upper and lower ends of the door post have been locked in operative position, the roll up door 26 may then be closed. In its closed position, the lower edge of the door 26 abuts against a portion of the floor structure 28 and is locked thereto. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the floor structure includes an angle 40 against which the door 26 abuts, and one or more door locking bolts 4-1 are rotatably mounted in the lowermost door section 26' and are provided with an end portion 42 which extends through a suitable opening 43 in the flange of the angle 40. After the door is closed, the bolt 41 may be rotated into its locked position, as shown in FIG. 5, thus locking the door 26.

The door post 25, as shown in FIG. 3, is a fabricated channel which includes a pair of flange plates 60 and a pair of spaced web plates 61. At the lower end of the door post 25, the space between the plates 60 and '3 61 is filled by a bottom plate 67 having an opening therein which forms a part of the hereinafter mentioned recess 74.

The tracks 56 are secured to the web plates 61 by suitable fasteners 62, as shown in FIG. 3, and the track 55 may be secured to its channel 27 by screws or welding. A bronze weather strip 63 may be provided for cooperation with the door 26, a portion of the weather strip being confined between the tracks 55, s, and the channel or web plate to which the same are secured.

The tracks 55 and 56 at their upper ends are curved inwardly and extend horizontally, the horizontal portions being mounted on suitable transoms not shown. The track 56 is madein separate aligned sections, so as to permit removal of the door post 25, the lower section being mounted on the door post, and the upper section on a transom.

Means, shown in FIGS. 3 to 6, are provided to lock the lower end of each door post 25 in its operative position. This means includes a post locking bolt 65 which is slidably received within the door post 25 and which extends into an opening 66 formed in the post holder 28' which forms a part of the fioor structure 23. It Will be observed that the upper surface of the post holder 28 is inclined as indicated at 68 providing a tapered joint to facilitate rapid release of the parts when the door post 25 is displaced outwardly.

The post locking bolt 65 is in the form of a T-bar, shown in FIG. 6, having horizontally extending arms 70 which are accessible to the operator to permit manipulation. The-bolt Sis located between the two web plates 61 of the fabricated channel. The web plates are provided with vertical slots 71 through which the horizontal arms 7t? extend, and the web plates 61 are reinforced at points adjacent to the slots by filler strips '72. Thus the elements 61, 72, and the opening in the bottom plate 67 cooperate to provide a vertically extending recess 74, shown in FIG. 4, in which the bolt 65 is slidably mounted for movement between the projected position shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and a retracted position. The throw of the bolt 65 is limited by the slots 71.

The lower end of the locking bolt 65 is preferably in the form of a wedge, providing a cam surface 69 which cooperates with a similarly shaped surface in the opening 66 of the post holder 28. When the locking bolt 65 is pressed downwardly, it will bear against the edge 73 of the recess 74 to move the door post 25 inwardly and upwardly along the inclined surface 68. Thus, the wedge portion 6d facilitates movement of the door post into the vertical position, and serves as a locating means to align the recess 7 with the opening 66.

A lug v75 is mounted on each one of the lowermost door sections 26' at a point right above each arm 7%, as shown in FIG. 5. These lugs serve to maintain the bolt 65 in its operative position after the doors 26 have been closed. Since the doors 26, when closed, are locked with respect to the floor structure 23, by virtue of the door locking bolts 41, the post locking bolt 65 will always he maintained in its operative position, irrespective of deflection of the side sills 22 and the floor structure 28 under load.

An auxiliary bolt locking device in the form of a keeper 76 may be provided to maintain the bolt 65 in its operative position when the doors are opened, as during loading. Also, the keeper gives a preliminary indication as to whether or not the bolt 65 has been pressed home.

The keeper is pivotally mounted with respect to the inner flange plate 60; as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4a, suitable bracket plate 77 may be spaced from the inner flange plate 69 by means of welding at one edge to the web plate 61, and by the provision of two spacer rivets 78, and one of the spacer rivets may also serve as a pivoted mounting for the keeper 76. A keeper may be provided for each side, if desired.

In operation, it will be first assumed that the door post 25 is in its operative position, in which the lower section of the door track as is aligned with the upper section, and in which a flange of the bottom plate 67 abuts the post holder 28' as shown in PEG. 4. In order to remove the door post, the lower end is first displaced outwardly in a lateral direction so that it clears the floor structure 28-23, after which it can be moved downwardly to disengage the securing means at the top end, or after which it may he slid to one side, as pointed out in the aforesaid copending application Serial No. 129,937, in order to permit direct loading. The lower end may be laterally displaced by first removing the locking bolt 65, and this may readily be done by pulling up on the arms 7% which are accessible to the operator. The insertion of the claw of a claw hammer under the arms '75 will facilitate the removal of the bolt 65 in the 1 event that the parts bind.

Then the lower end of the post may be readily dislodged, although if there is any binding between the bottom plate 67, and the post holder 28', a hammer blow will facilitate this dislodgement. The inclined surface 63 will cause a rapid disengagement of the parts, particlarly when the upper end of the post is suspended from a track.

In reversing the operation, the upper end of the post is first engaged, and then the lower end of the post is displaced inwardly until the bottom plate 67 engages the inclined surface 68 of the post holder 28. This is done while the locking bolt 65 is elevated into its retracted position. In the event that there is not sufiicient clearance to permit lateral movement of the lower end of the post all the way into the FIG. 4 position, the locking bolt 65 may nevertheless be lowered in its recess 74 so that the wedge portion 69 engages the correspondingly sloped edge of the post holder 28. Then a hammer blow on the locking bolt 65 will cause lateral movement of the lower end of the door post into its operative position as shown in FIG. 4. The keeper 76 can be swung down and serves as a gauge at this time to indicate to the operator whether or not the bolt has been pressed home into a position which corresponds to the operative position of the door post. If desired, two keepers can be provided, one for each arm 70.

The interference of the lugs 75 with the arm 76 of the bolt, after the door is closed, also gives an indication of whether or not the bolt has been pressed home, but it is more convenient to obtain this indication before the car is loaded, and for that reason, the keeper 76 provides a preliminary indication, and also serves to maintain the bolt in its locked position during the loading operation.

After the car has been fully loaded, and the doors have been closed and locked, then the lugs 75 serve to maintain the bolt 65 in its locked position, and prevent displacement thereof even though the motion or" the car should lift the door post 25 above the post holder 28'.

The disclosure of the aforementioned copending application, Serial No. 129,937 of Adler, Candlin and Van Der Sluys is incorporated herein by reference insofar as consistent with this application.

Although only a preferred embodiment of this invention has been shown and described herein it will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the construction shown without departing from the spirit of the invention as pointed out by the appended claims.

I claim:

I. In an open side railway car having a car structure which includes an underfrarne, car ends, a roof structure supported by said car ends and free of intermediate vertical supports, and a floor structure supported by said underframe, and also having a removable door post having a vertically arranged door track, means mounting said removable door post on said car structure, and a roll up door cooperating at one end with said door track, the

combination of means locking the lower end of said door post in its operative position, said post locking means comprising, in combination, a bolt member, means on the lower end of said door post receiving said bolt member in vertically sliding relationship, an opening in the floor structure of the car adapted to receive the end of said bolt member so that said door post may be locked in its operative position, means operative only upon the closing of said roll up door for maintaining said bolt member in its operative position, and position indicating means operative prior to the closing of said door for indicating whether or not said bolt member is in its operative position.

2. An open side railway car as claimed in claim 1 in which said position indicating means comprises a keeper pivotally mounted on said door post and having a portion which extends into the path of said bolt member when the same is in its operative position but the pivotal movement of said keeper being blocked by said bolt member when the same is not pressed home into its operative position.

3. An open side railway car as claimed in claim 1 in which said bolt member maintaining means comprises a lug mounted on said roll up door which, when said door .is closed, extends into the path of said bolt member for blocking movement of the same out of its operative position.

4. A removable door post for use in an open side railway car having a floor structure, and a pair of roll up doors located side by side along one side of the car, said door post comprising a channel having two web plates, oppositely disposed vertical slots in said web plates at the lower end of said post, vertical filler plates connecting said web plates at points adjacent the vertical edges of said slots and cooperating with said web plates to provide a vertically extending recess, and a T-shaped locking bolt mounted for vertically sliding movement within said recess and having arms extending laterally through said slots and interlocking therewith to prevent removal of said locking bolt from said recess, said locking bolt, when projected, having an end portion interlocking with said floor structure to maintain the lower end of said door post against lateral displacement. V

5. In an open side railway car having an underframe, car ends, a roof structure supported by said car ends and free of intermediate supports, a floor structure supported by said underframe, and a pair of roll up doors located side by side along one side of the car, the combination of a removable door post located between said roll up doors and cooperating therewith, means mounting the upper end of said removable door post on said roof structure, a T-shaped locking bolt mounted at the lower end of said door post for vertically sliding movement and having laterally extending arms, said locking bolt when in projected position having an end portion interlocking with said fioor structure to maintain the lower end of said door post against lateral displacement, means carried by said roll up doors at the lower portions thereof for engaging said bolt arms, and means for locking said roll up doors, when in closed position, with respect to said floor structure so that said locking bolt will be maintained in enweb plates at the lower end of said post, means mounting the upper end of said removable door post on said roof structure, a T-shaped locking bolt mounted for vertically sliding movement between said Web plates and having arms extending laterally through said openings, said locking bolt, when projected, having an end portion interlocking with said floor structure to maintain the lower end of said door post against lateral displacement, tracks mounted on said web plates for cooperation with said roll up doors, lugs carried by said roll up doors at the lower portions thereof, said bolt arms extending into the path of said lugs, and means for locking said roll up doors, when in closed position, with respect to said floor structure so that said locking bolt will be maintained in engagement with said floor structure irrespective of'rela tive vertical movement between the bottom end of said door post and said floor structure.

7. Anopen side railway car having a car structure which includes an underframe, car ends, a roof structure supported by said car ends and tree of intermediate vertical supports,v and a door structure supported by said underframe, and also having a removable door post having a vertically arranged door track, means mounting said removable door post on said car structure, and a roll up door cooperating at one end with said door track, the combination of means locking the lower end of said door post in its operative position, said post locking means comprising a bolt member, means on the lower end of said door post for receiving said bolt member in vertically sliding relationship, an opening in the floor structure of the car adapted to receive the end of said bolt so that said door post may be locked in its operative position, and means carried by said roll up door and engaging said bolt member when said roll up door is in its closed position to maintain said bolt member in its operative position, and auxiliary keeper means for maintaining said bolt member in its operative position prior to the time that said roll up door is closed.

Reterences Qited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,495,369 Witten May 27, 1924 1,908,165 Moler May 9, 1933 2,109,516 Wasberg Mar. 1, 1938 2,827,960 Keating et al. Mar. 25, 1958 2,942,561 Cheshire June 28, 1960 2,956,518 Sabol et al Oct. 18, 1960 2,974,612 Stough Mar. 14, 1961 2,979,786 Beauchamp Apr. 18, 1961 2,994,285 Dunlap Aug. 1, 1961 3,000,666 Fernandes Sept. 19, 1961 

1. IN AN OPEN SIDE RAILWAY CAR HAVING A CAR STRUCTURE WHICH INCLUDES AN UNDERFRAME, CAR ENDS, A ROOF STRUCTURE SUPPORTED BY SAID CAR ENDS AND FREE OF INTERMEDIATE VERTICAL SUPPORTS, AND A FLOOR STRUCTURE SUPPORTED BY SAID UNDERFRAME, AND ALSO HAVING A REMOVABLE DOOR POST HAVING A VERTICALLY ARRANGED DOOR TRACK, MEANS MOUNTING SAID REMOVABLE DOOR POST ON SAID CAR STRUCTURE, AND A ROLL UP DOOR COOPERATING AT ONE ONE END WITH SAID DOOR TRACK, THE COMBINATION OF MEANS LOCKING THE LOWER END OF SAID DOOR POST IN ITS OPERATIVE POSITION, SAID POST LOCKING MEANS COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION, BOLT MEMBER, MEANS ON THE LOWER END OF SAID DOOR POST RECEIVING SAID BOLT MEMBER IN VERTICALLY SLIDING RELATIONSHIP, AN OPENING IN THE FLOOR STRUCTURE OF THE CAR ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE END OF SAID BOLT MEMBER SO THAT SAID DOOR POST MAY BE LOCKED IN ITS OPERATIVE POSITION, MEANS OPERATIVE ONLY UPON THE CLOSING OF SAID ROLL UP DOOR FOR MAINTAINING SAID BOLT MEMBER IN ITS OPERATIVE POSITION, AND POSITION INDICATING MEANS OPERATIVE PRIOR TO THE CLOSING OF SAID DOOR FOR INDICATING WHETHER OR NOT SAID BOLT MEMBER IS IN ITS OPERATIVE POSITION. 